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Rapper Kid Cudi shocked the world on Tuesday night with his Facebook post about checking into rehab for “depression and suicidal urges.”

“I am not at peace,” he wrote in the deeply personal post.

In the following days, the conversation about Black men and mental health continues to swell on social media, powered, in part, by the hashtag #YouGoodMan. The phrase offers a temperature check among peers in regards to mental health awareness. Users shouted out Cudi with messages of support, while sharing stories about personal grief and resilience.

Black men also seized the moment to discuss how vulnerability is condemned as weakness, and tried to dismantle the angry Black male trope.

The recent slayings of Black men by police have also attributed to mental distress in the community. Not to mention that many of the men killed by police suffered from some form of mental distress.

Since its inception, rap has served as a means for Blacks to express aspirations and anguish. From Grandmaster Flash’s popular refrain on “The Message,” “It’s like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under,” to Lil Wayne’s confession about attempted suicide on Solange’s new album, A Seat At The Table, mental distress in the Black community is highlighted in these small glimpses of transparency.

It’s encouraging to see young brothers and sisters offer each other a safe space for open discussions and healing. Hopefully the conversation will evoke change in the occasional vile, breeding ground social media presents.

SOURCE: Twitter | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

SEE ALSO:

Radio One, Inc. Says ‘#NotOneMore’

‘I Am Not At Peace:’ Kid Cudi Enters Rehab For Depression & Suicidal Urges

#YouGoodMan: Kid Cudi’s Openness Gives Black Men A Space To Heal On Social Media  was originally published on newsone.com